


Nightmare

by ChirpB



Series: Say My Name [7]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crime Fighting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kim Hongjoong-centric, Lightning - Freeform, M/M, Major Character Injury, Nightmares, Sick Character, Superheroes, Thunder and Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChirpB/pseuds/ChirpB
Summary: “Okay, this should be easy. They don’t look like they can fight super well and are very disorganized. It’s surprising that they’ve been operating this long. We hit them hard and fast, yeah?” Seonghwa asked through the earpieces.A chorus of confirmations rang through Hongjoong’s tired head, making him wince a little.He was starting to get a headache.He just had to push through it and get this over with.He sent his confirmation and Seonghwa counted down.“Ready! Three. Two. One!”----------------------------Hongjoong is a hero named Charge.He's the leader of ATEEZ.Some things don't turn out the way he expects.(Please read previous works in the series for context)
Relationships: Bang Chan & Park Seonghwa, Choi Jongho & Kim Hongjoong, Choi San & Kim Hongjoong, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho & Kim Hongjoong, Jung Wooyoung & Kim Hongjoong, Kang Yeosang & Kim Hongjoong, Kim Hongjoong & Bang Chan, Kim Hongjoong & Everyone, Kim Hongjoong & Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: Say My Name [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560964
Comments: 32
Kudos: 91





	Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> I'll save the notes for the end.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to @MiniSuga127 for helping me out with the beta! Go check her stuff out!
> 
> There's also some parts in this I'm not super happy with, but here we are.

Hongjoong hadn’t been feeling the best for the past couple of days.

Well, it was more like the past couple months.

He hadn’t been able to sleep super well and was only getting about ten hours of sleep a week.

This wasn’t super common for him.

Yeah, he didn’t get a lot of sleep in general, but this was a whole new level of insomnia for him. He’d been working himself to the bone trying to crack down on Havoc and his location so they could get the drop on the villain. 

Hongjoong didn’t want his team taken advantage of anymore.

Especially with what happened with Mingi.

That was what really set him off. 

Not that he didn’t care about any of the others. Yunho’s torture, Wooyoung’s situation, San’s situation, even Yeosang’s, they all concerned Hongjoong a lot.

Mingi’s was what set him over the edge though.

His tall friend, basically his brother, almost died because of what Havoc and his minions had been doing.

Hongjoong didn’t know if the others on the team could tell if something was up, but he was really going through it.

Seonghwa might know, but the older never said anything.

Hongjoong was starting to get nightmares along with the lack of sleep. Having nightmares made him not want to go back to sleep (not that he could anyways).

They would start off completely normal, but would slowly turn into something sinister that happened to his friends. It would take the situations his team had been in and make them just about ten times worse.

A lot of them would end up with the team dying, or being severely handicapped.

The worst ones though were the ones where members of the team died in his arms.

There were ones where Seonghwa…

Hongjoong didn’t want to think about that at the moment.

He was busy. The team was busy. He had to focus.

That was going to be hard though, because he didn’t sleep at all last night and he was really having trouble paying attention to his team. 

He couldn’t be weak compared to them. No doubt the others still had nightmares about what they went through. Especially Yunho.

The tall hero would come to them sometimes and just start crying because of what he went through.

It hurt Hongjoong to watch his friends suffer.

If the others were fighting right now, then he should be completely fine. Right?

Well...wrong.

He couldn’t focus, so much that Seonghwa had to relay information to the team for him. Yeah, Seonghwa definitely knew something was wrong.

The team was currently fighting a group of low-level thugs who were trying to run a warehouse operation and sell some very illegal drugs and weapons.

They obviously weren’t experienced at this kind of thing with what Hongjoong had seen from reports.

Yet they still somehow managed to not get caught.

Hongjoong was so bugged about it that he and Yunho and Seonghwa worked to just find out where the gang would be the current night. Hongjoong didn’t want to have to deal with them anymore.

He knew that Havoc was targeting the team, so he wasn’t going to let any of the boys go out in small groups. Let alone by themselves.

He had asked Obsidian and the Stray Kids to help out with the little ones because of the situation.

Chan was very understanding about it, mostly because he knew why it was happening too.

It was something that the rest of ATEEZ didn’t know except for him and Seonghwa.

But this night might’ve not been the best night for Hongjoong to go out on.

Yeosang, Yunho, and Seonghwa were currently sneaking through the warehouse to help map out where most of the men would be. Then the rest of the team will join and take them out. 

The gang shouldn’t put up a big fight.

“ _ We marked them. Wooyoung should have it on his glasses,”  _ Yeosang said through the earpiece.

Hongjoong responded in confirmation and looked at Wooyoung who nodded, confirming he got the layout marked.

Wooyoung explained to the rest of the team where the most men were and they split up.

San was supposed to stay near Mingi in case he somehow overheated again. It had happened a couple times where his skin got too hot and lit a paper on fire.

It almost happened in one of his classes, but San was there and helped put it out quickly.

Decay somehow accidentally made Mingi stronger. She expected that situation to kill him. She underestimated the hero though. Hongjoong knew he was a tough cookie.

They all split up and quietly moved throughout the warehouse to their positions.

Hongjoong was closest to Wooyoung and he could see that the younger seemed more nervous when they were in the warehouse.

After what happened to him last time he was in one, it’s understandable. He was a tough guy though and wouldn’t let that hinder him.

Wooyoung stopped at his spot near a couple metal crates and Hongjoong continued forward for a bit more.

He signalled to everyone that he was ready and everyone else did too. Hongjoong had put Seonghwa in charge of the cue because he could see more from where he was in the building.

Hongjoong stood and let some sparks fly between his fingers. 

Then the weirdest thing happened. He felt his energy drop to almost absolute zero and he felt extremely dizzy. His eyes fluttered shut and he felt himself sink to his knees.

He shook his head to get rid of the tiredness and stood back up, albeit a little shakily.

_ “Hyung, you good?”  _ Wooyoung asked through the earpiece. He wasn’t aware that the younger could still see him. Probably because of the glasses.

Hongjoong tapped his earpiece to respond, “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Just lost my footing for a second.”

_ “Hyung-” _

“I’m fine, Brass. Don’t worry,” Hongjoong interrupted.

He didn’t get another word from the younger.

Hongjoong had to lean against the wall he was by so he could try and make himself refocus.

After about another minute, Seonghwa finally spoke to all of them. 

_ “Okay, this should be easy. They don’t look like they can fight super well and are very disorganized. It’s surprising that they’ve been operating this long. We hit them hard and fast, yeah?”  _ Seonghwa asked through the earpieces.

A chorus of confirmations rang through Hongjoong’s tired head, making him wince a little. 

He was starting to get a headache.

He just had to push through it and get this over with.

He sent his confirmation and Seonghwa counted down.

_ “Ready! Three. Two. One!” _

Hongjoong jumped from behind where he was hiding and immediately zapped one of the thugs standing closest to him.

He got caught up in fighting the five or so gang members that he barely registered the sounds of the others engaging in their own fights.

The thugs seemed very caught off-guard and Hongjoong was able to knockout three of them without much resistance, albeit a little shakily.

He didn’t feel as solid and confident in his combat as he usually did, but he still got the job done.

Hongjoong easily found the exposed places on the guards’ bodies so he could shock them into sleep.

He had practiced it so much earlier in his teenage years so he wouldn’t accidentally kill someone. It happened once...it wasn’t good.

Hongjoong took down the second to last guy and threw him to the ground. 

The last gang member seemed to be frozen in his spot when Hongjoong looked over. The guy was stuck in a position that gave to the idea that he was frozen in fear. 

Hongjoong staggered a little bit when he walked towards the guy, but he was able to get close enough and grab the guy before the poor soul tried to find courage to run away.

Hongjoong grabbed his shirt with one hand, then moved his other hand to the guy’s forehead.

The shock was delivered.

The guy twitched, then went still.

His eyes rolled back into his head, and Hongjoong felt panic swell in his chest.

Was that too much?

Did he just kill the guy?

Hongjoong dropped the guy and decided to think about that later. 

The others were still fighting their guy and Hongjoong was a lot more aware of the sounds and explosions going on around him. 

He seemed to have gone up against the less skilled thugs.

He looked first to see if he could help Yunho in any way, but the other seemed to be handling his adversaries well as he flipped one over and slammed him into the concrete ground.

Hongjoong’s adrenaline was through the roof and it left him a bit shaky.

He usually wasn’t like this. He didn’t rely on adrenaline to get him through a fight.

Hongjoong’s gaze whipped back and forth between his team to make sure they were all okay.

Yunho was doing fine with flipping all of his thugs. San had to put out a couple of Mingi’s fires, but Mingi seemed more in control and the two handled their gang members well enough. Seonghwa was doing well with flinging thugs left and right with his shadows (there were plenty of those in the warehouse). Yeosang was doing well with his newer ability. He would fly around as smoke and solidify an arm or leg so he could hit the crooks. Hongjoong knew that took a lot of energy from the younger, but Yeosang knew his limits.

Wooyoung was-

“Shoot!” Hongjoong yelled to himself.

Wooyoung was surrounded by at least eight gang members, who all seemed to be fairly skilled fighters.

It was weird that none of them decided to go and attack Hongjoong. Maybe they just didn’t see him?

He shook off his thoughts and went to go help Wooyoung, but before he could move far, another wave of dizziness crashed over him. This one stronger than the last.

Maybe he was finally coming down from his adrenaline rush.

He stumbled a little bit and squeezed his tired eyes shut, fighting off the exhaustion.

Everything that happened next all seemed like a blur to Hongjoong.

Usually he would signal the others to let them know he was sending a more powerful bolt of lighting to fight someone. A bolt that could almost kill any of them, but he would only use it when the situation called for it.

In his sleep-deprived mind, Wooyoung almost getting surrounded warranted a powerful bolt of lighting at the moment.

Usually he gave enough warning that the others would have time to get out of the area that would be affected by the lighting.

But that wasn’t the case this time.

Hongjoong staggered as he made his way a little closer to the group Wooyoung was fighting.

He was extremely tempted to just close his tired eyes and let sleep completely consume him, but he had to stay up and fight the thugs.

Hongjoong pushed his last little bit of energy through his right arm and aimed as well as he could given his unfocused vision.

It didn’t even occur to him what consequences would follow his shot. His brain didn’t think of the possible outcomes, but he found out what they were pretty quickly.

He decided to just shoot his shot and hope for the best.

The energy that was stored in himself, specifically his arm, quickly dissipated and he collapsed to his hands and knees with his head hanging low.

His breathing picked up quite a bit as his head began to spin and his vision blurred.

He barely registered the sounds of someone screaming in pain through all of the noise surrounding him. 

His head was throbbing.

Hongjoong tried to look back up to see if his hit was successful, but he was hit with another wave of dizziness. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to take deep breaths.

Everything around him seemed to go fuzzy as his vision blurred and all the sounds around him became muffled.

The sounds of the others fighting quickly became quiet as Hongjoong began to sense Seonghwa’s presence filling the warehouse.

Hongjoong sluggishly moved into a sitting position as a grunt from the last conscious thug sounded out.

His ears began to ring loudly and all of the sound surrounding him slammed him back into what was currently happening.

He slowly lifted his head up when he heard San shout.

“Brass!”

Hongjoong tried to blink San’s form into focus as the other quickly ran towards the area where Wooyoung had been fighting.

His eyes focused long enough for him to see San crouch down by a figure sprawled out on the ground with metal surrounding him.

It took his brain a few moments before he realized that Wooyoung was the one on the ground.

He didn’t know exactly what was happening or how badly Wooyoung was injured, but he wanted to call for Yunho to go help. His voice betrayed him when he tried to speak.

Hongjoong’s stomach began to churn and he wanted to throw up. 

He felt sick.

He never got sick.

Hongjoong decided that he would have to go help Wooyoung and San as much as he could.

As he attempted to stand up, his stomach churned even more. He refused to allow himself to throw up.

Maybe it was just something he ate earlier.

He shakily got to his feet and tried to make his way over to the others, but he stopped in his tracks when he registered Seonghwa’s form standing in front of him.

Hongjoong tried his best to keep his eyes open, but he seemed to be fighting tiredness.

He could see that Seonghwa’s lips were moving, and his boyfriend was probably saying something important judging by the almost angered look on his face.

All he could do was blink slowly at Seonghwa as a ringing sound slowly started filling his ears.

He winced and squeezed his eyes shut.

His breathing became more erratic and he quickly looked back up at Seonghwa.

The older’s expression quickly morphed from angry to concerned as Hongjoong swayed on his feet.

Hongjoong could only make out his own name on his boyfriend’s lips as his vision bagan to turn dark.

Not wanting to fight it anymore, Hongjoong let himself fall forward, hoping Seonghwa would catch him.

He wasn’t even awake long enough to feel himself landing in Seonghwa’s strong arms.

  
  
  
  


The team was in an empty field nearby the base, but far enough away from neighbors so there wouldn’t be any suspicious neighbors.

The sky was a dull gray color. A stark contrast to what Hongjoong remembered it being only an hour or so earlier.

He could feel the static electricity in the air as they all started training.

There was a question nagging the back of his mind, but he didn’t feel the need to address it.

What happened after the warehouse? Did they defeat the gangsters? Was Wooyoung okay?

Well, obviously Wooyoung was okay. He was standing right in front of Hongjoong.

Everything seemed to be going fine, but something didn’t sit well with him.

He looked around at his team and saw them working hard and sparring. It looked like they decided to ban powers and go straight to regular hand-to-hand combat.

Hongjoong always noted that Jongho would have the easiest time fighting everyone considering he was constantly fighting like this in real combat situations.

Hongjoong was usually paired up with someone who was about the same skill level as him. Usually that would mean Seonghwa or Yunho, but today it seemed those two were busy sparring with each other, which never happened.

He was immediately unsettled when he turned to see Wooyoung standing next to him and staring at Hongjoong with an uninterested look in his eyes.

Wooyoung didn’t say anything taunting either, which was the younger’s normal way of going about sparring.

Hongjoong steeled himself and got into a ready stance. 

“You ready to be destroyed, Woo?” He taunted.

Wooyoung didn’t reply, he just shrugged and got into a fighting stance.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the two duked it out.

Hongjoong never sparred with Wooyoung because the younger wasn’t as experienced in regular combat, so it should’ve been easy for him, but no matter how hard Hongjoong tried, Wooyoung always knocked him down.

He was getting frustrated at this point.

Hongjoong went all out and eventually kicked Wooyoung to the ground. The younger seemed to slide more than should’ve been physically possible, but he slid a couple meters away from Hongjoong.

He slowly stood up and tilted his head with a smirk, making Hongjoong very unsettled.

“Wow, this was the only time you knocked me down? No wonder Seonghwa doesn’t trust you to fight by yourself,” Wooyound commented.

Hongjoong was taken back by the statement.

“Wh-what? What are you talking about?”

“It’s a miracle you even made it this far. If you didn’t have Seonghwa, you probably wouldn’t be alive today,” Wooyoung sneered, expression suddenly cold and angry.

Hongjoong’s eyes widened, “Wooyoung! What the h-”

“I bet Eden regretted making you his apprentice.”

Hongjoong bristled.

“What’s gotten into you?!” He yelled. Wooyoung never acted like this. Did Hongjoong do something wrong? What was this all about?

“You know what? It seems like you’re the reason why Eden is-”

Hongjoong couldn’t take it anymore.

He stretched his arms forward and let out a heart-shattering wail as lightning discharged from his hands.

The lightning struck Wooyoung, causing the other to grunt in pain.

Hongjoong stood there fuming for a moment before he realized what he had done.

His eyes widened and he moved to go help Wooyoung.

Before he could make it to the younger, the hairs on his neck and his arms quickly straightened as the static in the air grew.

Hongjoong froze as he watched Wooyoung’s downed form get barraged by multiple bolts of lighting.

Before he could let out a panicked cry for help, the blast from the lighting knocked him down on his back and thunder blasted his ear drums.

Hongjoong peeled his eyes open and stared straight up at the sky and watched as a blinding light and another deafening crack of thunder filled his senses.

  
  
  
  


Hongjoong’s eyes flew open in a panic and he let out a startled yelp.

His breathing was erratic and his heart pounded as he tried to figure out where he was.

He recognized a familiar ceiling of his and Seonghwa’s bedroom above him and he saw Jongho and Yeosang’s concerned faces.

There was still some ringing in his ears from the scene he witnessed just moments before.

It took him too long to realize that was a dream-

No, not a dream. 

A nightmare.

Another nightmare. He should’ve known.

Hongjoong groaned in frustration. The other two boys receded from his view and he brought his hands up to his eyes. He pressed his palms into them, hoping to calm himself down.

When he brought his hands away, they were slightly wet.

After his breathing calmed down a bit, he tried to sit up, but strong hands pressed on his shoulder and held him down.

“Hyung, don’t try to get up. We still don’t know what’s up with you,” Jongho said.

Hongjoong pushed the younger’s hand off and sat up anyways. A small, less powerful wave of dizziness hit him, but that could just be chalked up to him lying down for too long.

“I know what’s wrong, don’t worry.”

He watched as Yeosang and Jongho gave each other concerned looks.

“Hyung, do you remember what happened?” Yeosang questioned carefully.

Hongjoong hated hearing the concern in his teammate’s voice, but only because that tone wasn’t usually used with him.

“What are you talking about? Of course I remember!” Hongjoong said, exasperated.

Yeosang narrowed his eyes, “I feel like you don’t remember everything. At least, not the relevant stuff.”

A throbbing sensation started to form behind Hongjoong’s eyes at the mention of something he missed and he ground, squeezing his eyes shut to try and block out the pain.

“I’ll go grab you some water, hyung,” Hongjoong heard Jongho say.

“Hey,” Yeosang started, grabbing Jongho’s attention, “Maybe you should also grab Seonghwa-hyung.”

Hongjoong heard some shuffling on the room’s carpet, then he heard a door open and close.

“How long was I out?”

Yeosang heaved a sigh, “Maybe half a day. You were pretty sick, but we don’t know why.”

He opened his eyes and looked up to meet Yeosang’s concerned gaze.

“What  _ do  _ you remember, hyung?”

Hongjoong wracked his brain to try and think about what happened.

“Um…” He started, “We were at the warehouse. I felt dizzy and unfocused the whole way there..,” Hongjoong trailed off, making sure Yeosang was still listening.

The younger nodded for him to continue.

Hongjoong took a deep breath, “We got into the warehouse and Wooyoung showed his concern for me. The Seonghwa said go and I went to take down my group of thugs.”

He shuddered when he remembered what had happened to Wooyoung in his nightmare. His headache suddenly began to throb even more as he remembered what he saw right before he passed out.

“Wo-Wooyoung. I saw him knocked out or something. Is he okay?!” Hongjoong asked in a sudden panic.

Yeosang stood up from the chair he was sitting in and quickly moved to sit on the edge of the older’s bed.

“Hyung, I think I should-”

Yeosang was cut off by the door to the bedroom opening to reveal Seonghwa holding a glass of water, sporting a concerned look on his face.

“Sorry to interrupt,” He apologized.

Yeosang stood up and moved so Seonghwa could be closer to Hongjoong. He bowed his head to the two, “I’ll let Seonghwa explain what happened.”

Hongjoong sat there, a little confused, as they watched the younger close the door softly.

Seonghwa patted Hongjoong’s leg, grabbing his attention.

“I’m just gonna be straight up with you since you seem to be less sick now,” he said.

Hongjoong gulped, a little nervous for what was about to be said.

“What? What happened? I feel like it’s something ba-”

Seonghwa grabbed Hongjoong’s shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes. 

“Calm down, you’re gonna work yourself up. I need you to stay focused.”

Hongjoong took a deep breath and nodded, “Right...right. Continue.”

Seonghwa nodded with a sad smile, “It’s something kind of bad, but don’t blame yourself for this. It’s on me.”

“What happened?” Hongjoong asked, voice dropping. He stared down at his hands resting on his thighs.

“You didn’t warn us you were going to use a big bolt like you usually do. Everything was going alright, but you were sick and confused. Wooyoung would’ve been much less harmed if he wasn’t using his metal the way he was-”

Hongjoong’s eyes widened in realization and his head snapped up to see Seonghwa, catching the older off guard.

“I what?!”

“Hongjoong, calm down, these kinds of things happen. Wooyoung’s alright now, but it was scary for a second.”

Hongjoong shook his head, “No...no, no, no-”

He was shook out of his panic when Seonghwa’s arms wrapped around his body, squeezing him tight.

“Don’t beat yourself up over this. Wooyoung is okay. It was my fault I didn’t realize how sick you were. These kinds of things happen to the best of us.”

Hongjoong buried his face into Seonghwa’s shoulder, weakly wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.

The two stayed in that position until Seonghwa’s shirt was damp with Hongjoong’s tears.

After a couple more minutes, Hongjoong slowly pulled himself away just enough so he could look up at Seonghwa.

“Hwa,” Seonghwa met the younger’s gaze, making Hongjoong shiver at the kind look in his eyes, “I...are you okay?”

Hongjoong noticed Seonghwa’s head tilt in seeming confusion.

“I should be asking you that, but I know you’re not right now. Why do you ask?”

Hongjoong softly placed one of his hands on Seonghwa’s face and brushed his thumb along his cheek with a soft smile.

“I remember feeling, um...your darkness. I guess when I knocked Wooyoung out,” he hesitated to announce to his boyfriend. The subject of Seonghwa’s darker side of his power was almost a taboo subject for the two of them to talk about.

There wasn’t a doubt in Hongjoong’s mind that the other’s probably had questions about it since they haven’t really explained much of Seonghwa’s power to them, but they could cross that bridge when they got to it.

Hongjoong watched as Seonghwa grimaced.

“I’m...fine,” Seonghwa lamented, “There weren’t too many gang members left, so I didn’t exert myself too much. I’m fine. It’s you we have to worry about.”

“I’m fine though. I can go back to my normal routine.”

Seonghwa shook his head, “You definitely can’t.”

Hongjoong pouted and let out an offended sound.

Seonghwa stood up, leaving Hongjoong longing for the warmth that just left him.

“Hongjoong, Jongho told me that you seemed to wake up from a nightmare.”

Hongjoong stared at his boyfriend with wide eyes. After a couple moments, his gaze turned downward and he frowned.

“I know you haven’t been able to sleep well. I sleep right next to you every night until you’re not there anymore and you decide to go into the living room to calm down,” Seonghwa started, taking Hongjoong by surprise again.

“I’ve heard you wake up with panicked breathing multiple times some nights. I know you aren’t getting enough sleep and I know those nightmares are taking a toll on you,” Hongjoong knew better than to go against what Seonghwa was saying and basically lie to his face.

His teammate.

His best friend.

His  _ boyfriend  _ knew him the best out of anyone.

He knew he couldn’t lie about this situation.

“I’m sorry..,” he said.

Seonghwa turned back to him and sat down in his precious spot.

“Don’t be sorry for something you can’t control. You know I know how bad nightmares can get.”

Hongjoong nodded. 

For the longest time since they became good friends, Seonghwa would experience dreadful nightmares from all of the stuff he had seen and done before. It would sometimes take hours to get him to calm down from panic attacks. 

He didn’t just get nightmares because of the things that he’d seen, Hongjoong knew this. He knew that it actually had a lot to do with Seonghwa’s power.

They all had some sort of weakness.

Seonghwa’s just happened to be nightmares, but, like Jongho was learning, they could control their weaknesses if they practiced it.

The older man would still have his nights where he would be hyperventilating when he woke up, but Hongjoong was always there to help him through it. Granted, the most recent time was months before their current situation when Yunho got captured.

Seeing Havoc seemed to trigger something in Seonghwa and it scared Hongjoong almost as much as Yunho getting kidnapped did.

As Hongjoong thought about it, the more he realized that he was with the best person who could help him.

Hongjoong gave Seonghwa a sad smile and opened his arms to embrace his boyfriend.

Seonghwa gave in to the gesture and wrapped his arms around Hongjoong tightly, giving him a small squeeze.

Once they broke apart, Seonghwa gave Hongjoong a peck on his forehead and scooted back a little so they could talk.

“So...if you’d like my almost professional opinion on why you were sick, I can tell you.”

Hongjoong chuckled, “Alright, Mister ‘Almost-Doctor’, what’ve you got for me?” 

Seonghwa smirked and pulled out his phone.

“Well, you see, when you don’t get enough sleep, which you obviously haven’t been getting, your health will obviously start failing bit by bit,” He started explaining.

Hongjoong was actually curious about why he passed out. He thought that you could pass out from lack of sleep, but he didn’t think he missed  _ that  _ much sleep.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Seonghwa interrupted his thoughts, “‘Is passing out not normal for lack of sleep?’ No, it’s not. It’s really rare that you’d pass out from that. So that’s not why you passed out.”

Hongjoong made a little ‘Oh’ sound and pursed his lips.

Seonghwa chuckled and continued, “Your immune system actually gets weaker when you don’t get enough sleep. And considering you’ve been having trouble sleeping for...how many months?”

Hongjoong counted in his head for a moment, “Maybe...three? Four max.”

“Yep,” the older man nodded, “That’ll do it. Your immune system started getting compromised and you just happened to get a virus, Yunho and I believe it’s just a flu that hit you pretty hard at first. Hence why you passed out and I assume you were dizzy and...foggy, for lack of a better word. He healed you as much as he could, but you know how he is with sickness.”

Hongjoong was always really impressed when his boyfriend turned on his “big brain”. It made him feel really lucky with his pick of a boyfriend.

Well, he couldn’t really call it a pick, because it just  _ happened _ ; but that was a story for another time.

“Yeah, I was very dizzy, weak, and couldn’t think clearly,” Hongjoong suddenly remembered his stupid decision to shoot a bolt in Wooyoung’s direction, “...clearly.”

Seonghwa’s smile turned into a soft one and he moved closer to Hongjoong.

Hongjoong felt the older’s hand gently grab his chin to gently force his head up a bit.

He wasn’t expecting it, but suddenly there were a soft pair of lips on his. He hummed in surprise and closed his eyes to feel the kiss more.

After about ten seconds of the soft kiss, the two parted and smiled at each other, Seonghwa chuckling.

  
  


“Everyone does things they regret,” Seonghwa started, “Some things more than others.”

The look on Seonghwa’s face told Hongjoong exactly what he was talking about.

“Seonghwa-”

“Don’t. We aren’t going to get into that right now,” he said, placing a hand on Hongjoong’s.

Hongjoong relished the warm touch.

“For now, we’re gonna focus on you to help you feel better, okay?”

Hongjoong gave him a playful, but also meaningful pout, “Okay, but we will talk about that eventually.”

Seonghwa chuckled, “Of course we will. Now scoot, it’s bed time and I wanna snuggle with you.”

“Wow, since when do you initiate the contact here?”

“Since always. What are you talking about?”

Hongjoong let out something that could almost be considered a giggle. He suddenly stopped when he realized what Seonghwa had said.

“Wait, wait, wait. It’s bed time?! What time is it?”

Seonghwa smirked and turned his phone on, “Um… ten-thirty. So really it’s early for you, but you need the rest. I’ll be by your side the whole time. Let me go get pajamas on.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Wait...Who changed me out of my uniform?”

Seonghwa paused in his tracks.

“Me and Yeosang, actually. You know he didn’t believe you had abs until he saw it? That’s the only reason he wanted to help.”

Hongjoong began laughing, “I can see him saying that.”

“Jongho and Mingi tried to tell him, then they got me involved.”

“Fun times all around then. Go get changed.”

Seonghwa let out a sound that was almost like a giggle and turn to go get changed.

Hongjoong looked around for his phone while he waited, but he couldn’t find it anywhere where it should’ve been. 

He wanted to get up and look around for it, but he knew if Seonghwa saw him up and about, the older would have his head and scold him.

Hongjoong hated Seonghwa’s scoldings. Especially when it was about his health.

So he just sat there waiting for his boyfriend to come back and stared at his hands, thinking about nothing.

His thoughts drifted towards their current Havoc situation as his thoughts tended to do recently.

He’d been trying to figure out the best way to get the supervillain sort of “out in the open”.

He tried to think of ways to keep their team safer, but everyone has been hurt too much already.

There was probably a better way to handle their specific situation, but Hongjoong couldn’t wrap his brain around any ideas.

They could ask Obsidian and the rest of Stray Kids for help, but they probably had their own problems.

Maybe they could ask that newer team that sprung up out of nowhere recently.

Hongjoong tried to think of the name, but his brain wasn’t cooperating with him.

He knew that Wooyoung talked about him and Yeosang knowing one of the members of the team somehow.

Seonghwa stepped back into the room as Hongjoong tried his best to think of the team.

“Why do you look like you’re constipated or something?”

Hongjoong snapped his attention to Seonghwa, who was now dressed in a t-shirt and simple, dark gray pajama bottoms. 

He shot a glare at his boyfriend and the older just laughed.

“Don’t be rude.”

Seonghwa seemed to snicker at Hongjoong’s reaction, causing Hongjoong to pout more.

Hongjoong watched as Seonghwa moved around to turn off the room light and moved to sit down on their bed after he pulled the covers off for him to slide under.

“So,” he said as he sat down, “What were you thinking about?”

Hongjoong hummed.

“Um...Just about the best way to go about this. After everything that’s been happening, it’s really hard to know what to do,” Hongjoong rubbed his eyes and laid down, “Like, I feel like I’m running out of ideas, and you only have so many. I don’t know what to-”

Hongjoong was cut off by Seonghwa laying down and wrapping an arm around Hongjoong’s torso.

“The others might have some good ideas. They have before,” Seonghwa suggested.

Hongjoong looked to meet his boyfriend’s eyes.

“But they wouldn’t be able to help unless we-”

“Unless we tell them. I know,” Seonghwa shifted, “I think I’m okay to tell them now. If you’re ready, that is.”

Hongjoong was taken off guard by Seonghwa’s sudden confession. Was the older really okay with  _ that  _ being explained?

“Are...are you sure? And this wouldn’t be on me. This is your decision. If you really are okay with telling them, and  _ want  _ to tell them, then that might help,” he gulped, “But I don’t want you to force yourself to do something you don’t actually want to do.”

“But it might help, right?”

Hongjoong hesitated, but nodded slowly.

“Then it’s okay,” Seonghwa confirmed, “Besides, I think Yeosang’s been getting curious about a ‘friend’ I told him about a little while ago.”

Hongjoong could feel rather than see Seonghwa’s smirk.

He reached up and placed his hand on the side of his boyfriend’s face.

“We can tell them tomorrow...if that’s okay with you,” Hongjoong suggested, trying his best not to pressure his boyfriend.

He felt Seonghwa nod, “I think that’ll work. Should we all take the day off?”

“It is a Saturday tomorrow, so there isn’t any school. I was actually thinking we could get Chan and his team to help out with patrols.”

“If they can’t, which might be likely with Woojin leaving, then we could always ask the new team, TXT.”

Hongjoong beamed, “That’s the name!”

His yell seemed to startle Seonghwa.

“Sorry. I was just trying to think of their team name. I couldn’t remember,” Hongjoong said with a nervous chuckle.

The older man let out a breath laugh and Hongjoong could tell that his boyfriend was smiling at him, even in the dark.

He loved Seonghwa’s smile so much.

“Anyway, we can figure this all out tomorrow. We need to get to sleep. You,” Seonghwa emphasized, “need to get more sleep.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes, but realized Seonghwa might not be able to see the gesture.

“Psh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said in the most sarcastic way he could.

Seonghwa chuckled and Hongjoong felt him shift.

Hongjoong usually slept on his back when he slept, but Seonghwa tended to sleep on his stomach, so he waited for Seonghwa to do his normal thing and stretched his arms above his head to get comfortable.

What Hongjoong didn’t expect was a pair of soft lips making contact with his cheek.

He smiled at his boyfriend’s gesture and turned his head in time to kiss Seonghwa’s nose before the other pulled away, causing the older to make a startled noise and Hongjoong to let out a giggle.

After the tender moment, Seonghwa finally slung one of his arms across Hongjoong’s chest and snuggled closer to the younger.

Hongjoong tilted his head towards Seonghwa and made it so the sides of their heads barely touched.

Hongjoong smiled as he breathed in the comforting scent of his boyfriend.

It wasn’t long before Hongjoong felt Seonghwa’s breathing deepen and even out. He fell asleep listening to his boyfriend’s slow, calm breathing.

  
  
  
  


Hongjoong stood in front of his team, all in their uniforms, and just looked at them.

Something wasn’t right.

There seemed to be something wrong with every single one of them.

Yeosang looked paler than usual and wasn’t holding himself as strongly as he usually did. There were dark bags under his eyes and every so often he would let out a series of coughs.

Jongho and Mingi both seemed to have serious burn scars all across every bit of exposed skin Hongjoong could see. It reminded him of when Mingi basically exploded with Jongho right by him. Maybe Jongho didn’t make it out in time.

He kept scanning the team and saw Yunho with a dazed look on his face and a bunch of thinner scars lining his body and the thicker end of one peeking out from his shirt collar.

San was standing next to Yunho and was curled in on himself. He seemed like he was shivering, but if someone accidentally stood near him, he would curl in on himself even more, seeming to avoid physical contact at all costs.

While the images of them were startling, nothing scared Hongjoong more than when he saw Wooyoung.

The younger was standing with his arms at his side and his head tilted slightly. Hongjoong first noticed the marks that spread along Wooyoung’s skin. He knew the cause of them all too well. 

Lichtenberg figures marred all along the young hero’s skin, causing Hongjoong to shudder. His eyes trailed up Wooyoung’s arms to his neck and then his face. He was even more startled by the milky white eyes that replaced Wooyoung’s warm brown ones.

Hongjoong’s eyes widened at the sight and fear spiked in him.

“Are you sure you aren’t the evil one here?”

Hongjoong turned around at the sound of Seonghwa’s voice. He met the other’s eyes that looked so very wrong.

The older had an aura about him that gave Hongjoong a very bad feeling. Seonghwa’s eyes were cold and empty.

And pitch black.

Hongjoong’s stomach dropped at the sight. 

He felt sick at the sight of Seonghwa looking like-

“You’re the one that caused all of this. Are you sure  _ you’re  _ not the evil one here?” Seonghwa interrupted, stepping closer to intimidate Hongjoong.

Hongjoong shakily stepped back to try and avoid the other man.

“Wh-what? I’m not- I-”

“Don’t act all innocent. You  _ know _ that you’re keeping them in the dark and it’s hurting them. Would a truly good person do that to their supposed friends?”

Hongjoong struggled to take in enough oxygen as tears threatened to spill.

“What are you talking about?!”

Seonghwa titled his head in amusement and scoffed.

“You really think none of this is your fault?!”

Hongjoong began to panic even more. “I never said that!” He explained.

“They’re all going to leave once you tell them you lied to them.”

“I’m- that’s not-”

“And you really think that I would stay after all of that?”

Hongjoong didn’t think his eyes could widen anymore, but they did. His heart dropped to his stomach and the tears finally fell.

“Wh-why?”

“I made the worst mistake of my life following you, you know. I was doing just fine in my life before you,” Seonghwa said with a scoff, “Maybe it’s time I go back to what I loved so much before.”

Hongjoong panicked, “What?! No! Seonghwa, you can’t!”

“And why not? Because Eden trusted you to take care of me, or something?” Hongjoong reached for Seonghwa, but the other pulled away, “It’s not all about you, but you’re the one who seems to be making all the mistakes here.”

Neither of them spoke for several moments until Hongjoong’s voice fought through the tears.

“I thought you were happier now,” His head hung low, “Was that a lie?”

Hongjoong didn’t see it, but Seonghwa’s gaze turned darker, “One hundred percent.”

Hongjoong let out a sob at the revelation.

His tears kept falling as Seonghwa’s words rang through the air.

He sank to his knees and curled in on himself.

He wanted to be comforted so badly. He needed contact.

Contact with Seonghwa, but that wasn’t going to happen now.

Suddenly, Seonghwa was crouching in front of him.

“Hongjoong, listen to me,” Hongjoong wanted to listen to his boyfriend’s voice, but he only knew it would just hurt him more.

“Hongjoong, you’re okay.”

His head snapped up to look at Seonghwa. Why would he say something completely opposite of what he said before?

The Seonghwa in front of him seemed warmer than before.

His eyes weren’t completely black. They had life in them and were the brown color that Hongjoong loved so much.

“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa placed a hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder, making the younger flinch, “I think you should wake up now.”

  
  
  
  


Hongjoong woke up with a gasp.

It took him a minute to realize where he was and how he got there, but once he remembered, he began to tear up.

“Hongjoong, it’s okay. I’m here, don’t cry.”

His eyes shifted and he saw Seonghwa looking at him with concern. It was then when he realized his boyfriend was there and comforting him.

He turned and wrapped his arms around Seonghwa to find comfort. He squeezed Seonghwa tight and let out a choked sob.

“Please don’t leave me,” Hongjoong didn’t realize that he voiced his panic out loud until Seonghwa responded.

“I’m never gonna leave you, Joong. Never.”

That confirmation was all Hongjoong needed to let his tears flow.

Hongjoong felt Seonghwa squeeze him tightly, almost like he never wanted to let go.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only a couple minutes, Hongjoong’s sobbing was reduced to sniffles.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, just so you know, but I want you to know that I will never leave you, and neither will the others. That nightmare didn’t sound like an easy one to get through,” Seonghwa said.

Hongjoong let out a wet chuckle, “It wasn’t, but you were there. Like after everything. You, the  _ real  _ you, was there and you got me out of it.”

“The real me, huh?”

Hongjoong nodded.

“In a way, it was like you were back to the way you were before...everything.”

Hongjoong realized it was light enough to see when he saw Seonghwa’s expression turn sour.

“We don’t like old me. That kid was stupid and didn’t know anything.”

Hongjoong chuckled, “He wasn’t completely stupid, but he was still stupid.”

“Rude,” Seonghwa said in mock offence, “But you may be right, or I wouldn’t be here now.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s about eight in the morning, actually. You slept for a long time.”

“Then why do I feel like I got run over by a semi?” Hongjoong groaned.

Seonghwa let out a small laugh, “It happens, I guess.”

The two sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes before Seonghwa’s phone went off. Hongjoong let out a whine when he felt Seonghwa’s warmth escape from him.

Hongjoong listened as Seonghwa picked up his phone.

“Hello?”

Hongjoong could only hear silence.

“Oh, yeah. Let me put you on speaker,” Seonghwa pressed a button on his phone and Hongjoong could already hear chaos in the background.

“Okay, you’re now on speaker,” Seonghwa informed the mystery person. Hongjoong couldn’t see his boyfriend’s phone screen, so he couldn’t see the caller I.D.

_ “Hey guys! How you going?” _

Oh, it was him.

“Hi, Chan. How are you?”

_ “I’m pretty good, actually. Did I wake you guys up?” _

Hongjoong and Seonghwa laughed. “No, you didn’t. We actually woke up about fifteen minutes ago,” Seonghwa explained.

_ “Oh good. I would’ve felt bad-”  _ There was a sound of a crash on the other end of the line, then a shout from Chan telling whoever it was to stop messing around,  _ “Sorry about that. The kids are awake, somehow. I blame Minho.” _

Hongjoong gave Seonghwa a smirk, “Sounds like some people we know.”

Chan chuckled on the other end.  _ “Anyway, Minho actually told me to call you. He had a feeling you guys needed something. And by feeling, I mean he had a dream about it, I guess. We still don’t know how that works,”  _ The hero explained.

Seonghwa nodded, “Yeah, actually. We were gonna call you today to see if you could do something for us.”

_ “And what may that be?” _

Hongjoong grabbed Seonghwa’s phone, “Well, we have a lot of explaining to do to our team, and we need a bit of free time after everything that’s been happening.”

Chan made an understanding noise,  _ “Makes sense. We had to do that when we talked about the whole thing with Woojin. Got7 gladly helped us out for a couple days. I bet we can help ya out.” _

“Thank you so much, Chan. It means a lot. We owe you.”

_ “You guys don’t owe me anyth-”  _ Another crash sounded from the other end of the line, “ _ Hyunjin! I swear on all that is holy, if you don’t stop right now, I will hurt you!” _

_ “It wasn’t my fault! It was Changbin-hyung!”  _ Hongjoong laughed at the distant sound of Hyunjin defending himself.

Chan let out a groan,  _ “I’m sorry, you guys. Would you be able to text me more details later? I have to deal with some rats.” _

Seonghwa laughed, “Of course. I’ll text you later. Go take care of your, um, situation.”

_ “Will do! You guys have a good day then!” _

“We’ll try. Bye!”

_ “See ya!” _

Seonghwa took the phone back from Hongjoong and pressed the ‘end call’ button.

“Okay,” Seonghwa started, grabbing Hongjoong’s attention, “You go take a shower and get ready. All of the boys stayed here last night, so I’ll go wake them up so we can have our talk.”

Hongjoong barely nodded before Seonghwa was out the door.

He seemed extremely nervous about the whole thing and probably wanted to get it over with. That was completely understandable to Hongjoong though.

He listened to his boyfriend’s instructions and showered. He changed into his favorite pair of comfy clothes and stepped out into the hallway.

Hongjoong moved towards the living room to see if anyone was awake yet.

He saw Jongho hanging out on the couch scrolling through his phone.

“Hey Jongho,” Hongjoong said softly.

Jongho’s head whipped up and he had wide eyes, “Hyung!”

Hongjoong was suddenly wrapped in a tight hug and almost couldn’t breathe.

Jongho seemed to notice and quickly released the older. “Sorry about that,” he said.

Hongjoong chuckled, “You’re totally fine. Did Seonghwa wake you up?”

“Nah, I was already awake, but he is trying to take Mingi up now. Let’s hope he doesn’t get burned to a crisp.”

Hongjoong shuddered when he remembered nightmare Jongho and Mingi and their burns.

“You good?” Jongho asked.

“Yeah...yeah, I’m good. Sorry.” 

“Well you better be, because Seonghwa told us you had some tea to spill,” San said, coming out of the hallway with a sleepy Wooyoung behind him.

Hongjoong’s blood froze when he saw Wooyoung. He expected the younger to look like the Wooyoung he saw in his nightmare, but he looked almost completely normal.

“Wooyoung…”

Wooyoung looked up sleepily, but suddenly became very awake when he noticed it was Hongjoong speaking.

“Hyung, you’re okay!”

Hongjoong was shocked. Shouldn’t Wooyoung not be on speaking terms with him or something?

“Y-yeah, I’m okay. Are you okay?” Hongjoong asked hesitantly.

Wooyoung glanced at San and Jongho, then let go of his boyfriend’s hand and walked towards Hongjoong.

“I’m fine. I don’t blame you for anything either. So don’t hold on to what happened, okay?”

Hongjoong almost wanted to cry again, but he held his tears back and just smiled at Wooyoung.

The younger suddenly rolled up his sleeve and Hongjoong noticed San almost panic for a second. 

Once Wooyoung’s sleeve was up to his elbow, Hongjoong looked down.

Running along the back of Wooyoung’s forearm and wrapping around it slightly was a lichtenberg figure.

Hongjoong’s eyebrows drew together in concern and disappointment in himself.

“It goes from my shoulder to here,” Wooyoung explained, gesturing to the areas where the lightning marks supposedly were.

“I’m sorry,” was all Hongjoong could manage to say.

Wooyoung rolled his sleeve down. “Don’t be sorry. I think they look hecking cool!” The other said with a bright smile on his face.

Hongjoong’s expression quickly changed to confused at that.

“You think they look cool?”

Wooyoung nodded enthusiastically, “Well yeah! They’re cool-looking to me! Sannie thought they looked cool too.”

San smirked from behind Wooyoung and Hongjoong let out a breathy chuckle.

“Well, I’m glad you don’t totally despise me after that.”

Wooyoung suddenly lunged forward and wrapped Hongjoong in a tight hug. Hongjoong laughed and wrapped his arms around the younger.

After a couple of seconds, the two parted and Yeosang and Yunho walked into the room.

The two greeted Hongjoong and asked how he was doing. They all made light conversation while they waited for Seonghwa and Mingi to arrive.

Hongjoong explained to them that Stray Kids would be covering for them for the time being.

“Binnie-hyung’s team? Chan said he would?” Wooyoung asked.

Hongjoong nodded, “Yeah, he was totally fine with it, and he’s actually the one who called us.”

“That would be Minho,” Wooyoung said offhandedly.

Everyone smiled or chuckled at the comment.

“So,” Yunho started, “Exactly how serious is this ‘talk’ gonna be? If we’re taking a couple days off for it, it must be important, right?”

Hongjoong was about to answer when he was interrupted by an agitated Seonghwa holding Mingi over his shoulder.

“I’d say it’s pretty important,” he said as he moved to a couch and threw Mingi down on it, earning a groan from the younger.

Seonghwa turned to the group of heroes with an almost hurt smile on his face.

“You guys are gonna want to get comfortable,” he started. He walked to stand by Hongjoong and placed a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

The two made eye contact then turned to look at the rest of the group.

“We have something important to tell you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, you made it!
> 
> Please tell me what y'all thought about it and if you have any theories (@ bekah and jj XD)!
> 
> I appreciate comments and kudos and I'm really excited for Seonghwa's part where a lot of things will be answered.
> 
> I also have several other things I'm working on that I'm excited for. So look forward to those.
> 
> Scream at me on twitter [@Chirp_B](https://twitter.com/Chirp_B)
> 
> Have a good one, beans!!!
> 
> Love you!
> 
> My ko-fi: [ChirpB](https://ko-fi.com/chirpb)


End file.
